


you were born a fighter(i was always fragile)

by doctorsimmonswilson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Introspection, Marriage Proposal, POV Daniel Sousa, Romance, eensy teensy amounts of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28054581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorsimmonswilson/pseuds/doctorsimmonswilson
Summary: Daniel Sousa hates feeling like a man out of time. He knows it’s what he is. He doesn’t have to like it. But maybe a certain someone can help him with that.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 14
Kudos: 66





	you were born a fighter(i was always fragile)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alinya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alinya/gifts).



> hello! this fic actually includes some different head canons than I’ve published before, but I believe that there are many ways these two could do things, so I will write them all!!(...or try to). 
> 
> happy day! and please leave a comment and a kudos if you like this! enjoy!
> 
> for the wonderful Alinya, who is just the best<3 hope you enjoy.

Daniel Sousa has a reasonable amount of wariness or a man who’s living his adult life in the twenty-first century, despite being born in 1919. He doesn’t fully trust computers, and he doesn’t like how every piece of food available seems to have been made in a lab. Daniel doesn’t like when people stick their heads into their cell phones, and he especially doesn’t like when his girlfriend ignores him in favor of her cell phone. He feels uncomfortable when— in place of the disgusted looks he got in the fifties— people look at his fake leg with sympathy. He hates it when he’s treated like an idiot, like someone who couldn’t possibly know a thing or two. Daniel Sousa hates the way the twenty-first century makes him feel like a man out of time. He knows it’s what he is; he doesn’t have to like it. 

Daniel taps Daisy’s shoulder. She turns to him with a gleaming smile, and a slightly bewildered look. She looks happy, carefree. It makes Daniel’s heart feel warm. 

“What’s up, babe?” She asks him, shifting her body towards his. Daniel thinks they should get those swiveling barstool chairs they were talking about. 

“God, I feel like an idiot for asking...what does a— a smartwatch do? I know it gets those instant messages, but today I saw a guy talking into it.” Daniel only feels mildly embarrassed about this particular question. When Daisy has to lecture him on societal changes, he feels like a child being scolded. Daisy is understanding, but Daniel feels guilty when he says things that he isn’t supposed to say anymore. 

“They can make calls too. I could show you one, if you want. We’ll find someone at work who has one,” Daisy shrugs. Daniel frowns.

“It’s alright. I was just curious.”

“Okay,” Daisy agrees, turning back to her laptop. Daniel glances at her screen.

“What are you working on?” 

Daisy sighs, “Ugh. Nothing interesting. If I have to write another report ever again, I may die of exhaustion.”

“Well we can’t have that, now can we?” Daniel wraps his arms around her waist, leaning his chin on her shoulder. He presses a kiss to her neck. Then another, and another. Daisy shudders.

“Let me finish this up, and then we can see all about what we _can_ have, Danny-boy,” Daisy whispers. Daniel presses his lips to her cheek. 

_______

Though Daniel had been acclimated to L.A. heat, and has more recently become acclimated to the conditions of a spaceship, he does enjoy the fluctuating weather in D.C. He likes the days when there’s sunshine. It gives him nostalgia for his childhood. His earliest memories include a sunny day. He enjoys it mostly because he gets to hold Daisy’s hand, strolling through a park or a patch of woods. She hadn’t been so keen on Daniel’s affinity for the outdoors at first, but she came around. 

Daisy leans slightly against Daniel; he likes the way her body warms his arm against the slight breeze. A bird chirps happily in the trees above them. Daisy lets out a content sort of sigh.

“This is nice. You were right; it’s good to get outside sometimes…”

“You’re admitting I’m right? Wow,” Daniel looks at his girlfriend with mock surprise. 

“...but it’s also nice to stay indoors sometimes,” Daisy grins. 

“Everything in moderation,” Daniel comments. Daisy mumbles something about him being just such a dork. Daniel looks up at the trees through his sunglasses. Daisy starts rattling on about something, but Daniel is content to just enjoy the scenery. It’s rare that he gets a moment of peace like this one. The world seems to move at a million miles an hour these days. He likes the opportunity to just take it all in. 

“...be disrespectful.” Daniel is broken out of his reverie by a woman staring at him. She holds a young boy in her arms. “I’m so sorry to bother you, sir, but my son here… he wants to know how you got your fake leg. I’ve already told him you don’t have to answer, because—“ 

“That’s alright,” Daniel shakes his head, looking down at his leg. His pant leg caught on his prosthetic. He looks at the boy with as much curiosity as the boy is looking at him with. “What’s your name, bud?”

“Henry,” the boy looks at Daniel shyly. Daniel feels Daisy squeeze his hand. 

“Hi Henry, I’m Daniel. I lost my leg in an explosion in the military. So they gave me a new one. It’s not as good as my real one, but it does the trick.” 

“Does it hurt a lot?” Henry looks at Daniel with wide eyes.

“Not anymore,” Daniel assures the toddler. Henry gapes at Daniel, nodding quickly. 

“Thank you,” his mom cuts in, “for telling him, and for your service to this country. You’ve done more than you know.” Daniel nods. “Let’s get going,” the woman looks at her son, smiling. She mouths another thank you, before heading past Daisy and Daniel. 

“That was really sweet,” Daisy looks at him. Daniel looks back at her.

“Me or the kid?” He quips. 

“The whole thing,” Daisy grins. “The kid was cute, sure, and the mom was nice. But you were the one I was admiring. I liked the way you handled the kid.”

“Thank you?” Daniel furrows his eyebrows at her. How else would he have handled it?

“It kind of made me want to have babies with you.” Daniel blushes slightly, but recovers quickly. 

“I’d like that too.”

“Good,” Daisy nods. “Good.” He doesn’t know why she repeats herself. 

“So our theoretical babies…they are theoretical, right?”

“I’m not pregnant!” Daisy laughs. “I just saw you be all sweet and square-y to a toddler. And I just thought one day it would be nice if we had a baby of our own.” Daniel turns toward her, and kisses her with as much passion as he can muster. In a world full of things that don’t make any sense to him, she makes it all fit. 

“I like the sound of that,” Daniel whispers into her mouth. 

_______

Daniel hates this. He hates this stupid fight that they’re having. He hates that Daisy has barely spoken to him for the past week. He hates that she slides into their bed and stays to her side, silent. 

But he also believes that he is right, and so does she. So, getting into bed, eating breakfast, and driving to work are all done in near silence. Daniel also believes— no, he _knows_ — that he has to be the first one to apologize. He knows Daisy. He knows she has never had this kind of stability before, and she doesn’t think to end this argument. She is probably thinking about ending it all; everything they have, she’s probably thinking he wants to let it go. And nothing terrifies Daniel Sousa more than the thought of losing Daisy and everything she brings to his life. 

“I’m sorry,” Daniel says one morning as Daisy pours herself a glass of juice. “I know we’re never going to agree on this, but that is life. We don’t always get to agree. I love you. I love you more than anything, and one week of not getting to share everything with you is enough.” Daisy places the juice on the counter, looking up at her boyfriend. Then she does something he doesn’t expect. She starts to cry.

“I’m sorry, Daniel. I— I overreacted. I just—“ 

“I know,” Daniel comes over to her. Daisy wraps her arms around him. “I know,” he whispers. He is soberly reminded that he is not the only one of them who has lived life no one would consider ‘fair’. 

“I love you,” Daisy whispers back. 

_______

It’s not as if Daniel has never made a proposal before. It’s just that this time, he’s absolutely sure this is the woman he wants to spend his life with. He doesn’t believe in fate. But something inside his brain tells him that this is the way it was meant to be; him and Daisy, building a life together. But the logical part of him knows that there’s no possible way that he was meant to travel seventy years into the future. It just happened that way. He wants to articulate this to Daisy in a nice speech that truly shows how much he loves her and treasures her.

“Marry me,” Daisy whispers one night, trailing a hand down his naked chest.

“What?” Daniel blinks. Was she actually proposing to him? After they’d had—? 

“I don’t have a ring. You wouldn’t wear one anyway. Marry me,” Daisy looks into his eyes, and Daniel can tell she means it.

“How do I—?”

“Just say yes.”

“Yes,” Daniel grins. Daisy’s eyes fill with tears, and she places her lips feverishly on his. She’s grinning as she pulls away. 

“Happy birthday, fiancé.” 

“Best birthday ever,” Daniel grins. Suddenly, twenty-first century traditions didn’t bother him so much anymore. He rather liked the way Daisy— _his fiancée_ — said ‘Marry me’.


End file.
